Getting a message to somebody is facilitated when the person for whom the message is intended has a telephone answering machine or subscribes to a voice mail service. For example, assume a soccer team captain has to get word to his or her team members that a scheduled game has been moved to an earlier time. Assume half the team members do not have answering machines nor subscribe to voice mail services (the “have-nots”). To get the message to the have-nots, the team captain must reach each have-not by direct telephone conversation, in person, or by some other means to substantially assure himself or herself that the have-not received the message about the rescheduled time for the game.
For the other half of the team members, who have answering machines or subscribe to a voice mail service (the havers”). The team captain's messaging task is easier. The team captain may leave a message for each haver on the respective haver's answering machine or voice mail service, and the team captain may be substantially assured the message has been at least delivered for retrieval by the haver.
But there arc times when leaving a message for a person on his or her answering machine or voice mail service is insufficient. For example, a caller may have an urgent message for the called party that the caller desires to deliver as soon as possible and directly. In that urgent situation (as well as in others), the routing of the caller's call to the answering machine or to the voice mail service may frustrate the caller. The answering machine or voice mail service may be considered by the caller to be a “dead-end” because there no options available to the caller except to hang up or leave a message. In some systems typically used in businesses or similar institutions, the caller is provided with the option of dialing “0” to reach an operator or dialing another extension to reach the called party's assistant, colleague, or other substitute. But these systems still are a “dead-end” for the caller who would like to speak directly to the called party.
Accordingly, there is a need for a messaging system that provides a caller with at least an option in addition to the three options of leaving a message, hanging up, or reaching a substitute for the called party.
There are technical reasons that there remains a need for a messaging system with more than the three options mentioned above. Answering machines and network voice mail platforms are a sort of “dead-end” in the telecommunications network A call that is picked up by an answering machine associated with a called party's telephone or a voice mail platform serving the subscriber is in effect terminated to that device as if the called party had picked up the call. The device “answers” the call and typically offers a greeting and takes a message in place of the called party. The typical answering machine or voice mail platform does not have features to implement other more advanced options such as forwarding a call, etc.
Among the reasons that the typical answering machine or voice mail platform does not have the features to implement more advanced options is that such features would add greatly to the complexity and expense of an answering machine or voice mail platform. Essentially, to add these advanced features would be to add substantial telecommunications switch features to the device. Given the complexity, cost, size, and other characteristics of a telecommunications switch, adding substantial switch features to an answering machine or voice mail platform is an impractical solution to the need for a messaging system that provides a caller with more than the options of leaving a message, hanging up, or reaching a substitute for the called party.
Accordingly, there is also a need for a messaging system that provides a caller with at least an option in addition to the three options of leaving a message, hanging up, or reaching an operator or other substitute for the called party, and that provides the option without adding substantial telecommunications switch features to an answering machine or a voice mail platform.
Even if an answering machine or voice mail platform were provided with enough features to provide at least an advanced option to a caller with respect to a call to a called party, there remain issues to be resolved with respect to such a device. These issues include the involvement of the device in the processing of the calls that reach the device and that may be further processed afterwards.
With the additional feature(s), it is likely the device would remain in the call path when implementing an advanced option for a call. For example, assume a caller has reached the device and is presented with the option of being forwarded to another telephone number so as to have another chance to speak directly to the called party. If the device simply forwards the call to the other telephone number, then the device may remain as an element in the call path.
By remaining an element in the call path, the device takes up resources of the telecommunications network. In addition, by remaining an element in the call path, the device may limit, if not eliminate, its own resources to take other calls for the called party. Rather than being able to take another call, the device may be effectively “busy” by having forwarded the call to the other telephone number or implemented another feature. Whether the resources that are taken up are those of the telecommunications network or of the device, the result of the take-up in resources is an increase in cost in at least operation of the advanced device.
Accordingly, there is a further need for a messaging system that provides a caller with at least an option in addition to the three options of leaving a message, hanging up, or reaching an operator or other substitute for the called party, that provides the option without adding substantial telecommunications switch features to an answering machine or a voice mail platform, and that is not included in the call path or other further processing applicable to a call for a called party when an advanced option is applied to the call.